The Tiger of Eschnapur

The Tiger of Eschnapur (Fritz Lang, 1959)

Fritz Lang returned to Germany to direct two films The Tiger of Eschnapur and The Indian Tomb, which together tell the story of a German architect (Paul Hubschmid), the Indian maharaja (Walter Reyer) for whom he is supposed to build schools and hospitals, and the Eurasian dancer (Debra Paget) who comes between them.

Destiny aka Behind the Wall

Destiny aka Behind the Wall (Fritz Lang, 1921)

In the Expressionistic frame story, in which human lives are each represented by a candle, Death grants a woman three chances to save her lover, if love can triumph over death. The three stories within the story each occur in a setting that is nominally historic, but really in the realm of fantasy: an adventure tale with a Persian setting out of the Arabian Nights, a Renaissance Venetian romance, and a largely comic story set in China.

The Big Heat

The Big Heat (Fritz Lang, 1953)

Homicide detective Sergeant Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) is an honest cop who investigates the death of fellow officer Tom Duncan. It would seem to be an open-and-shut case, suicide brought on by ill health. Bannion, however, is contacted by the late cop's mistress, Lucy Chapman (Dorothy Green), who claims it could not have been suicide. From her, Bannion learns that the Duncans had a second home which would not have been possible on his salary.

M (1930)

M (Fritz Lang, 1930)

This article is part of a series of self- imposed movie reviews set in the participation of this film critic to the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Club. It is an attempt at catching up the reviews that I’ve missed in my recent period of inactivity in the blogosphere.

Films from Germany made prior to the Second World War are a bliss for any film lover. So much of the influence and themes of German Expressionism aesthetics has been imported by Hollywood especially its greatest directors : F.W. Murnau and Fritz Lang. In the case of Lang, he escaped Nazi Germany in an anecdote Lang himself contradicted many times while telling it. However, before he flew to America, Lang made a name of himself by directing some of the most influential films of all-time with his Metropolis, Spione, Dr. Mabuse, Die Nibelungen, and M amongst many others. With M, Lang tells the story of a serial killer pedophile who infuriated the public opinion, the police, and the underground gangsters. It creates a race between the policemen and the gangsters because the police was thinking that it was the underground that was responsible for those horrible crimes.

You Only Live Once

You Only Live Once (Fritz Lang, 1937)

The public defender's secretary and an ex-convict get married and try to make a life together, but a series of disasters sends their lives spiraling out of control.

Fritz Lang’s second American feature, the first being Fury, continues on building the themes that will become the cornerstone of Film noir and Melodrama. Starring Sylvia Sidney and Henry Fonda as the Taylors, Eddie and Joan form a young couple of an ex-prisoner and the secretary of the public defender. This unique union of “good and bad” is linked by the fact that Lang exploits the Rousseau principle on the beliefs of Joan that she believes that every man is born good and that society brings him to do bad things. In fact, the plot of the film slowly evolves into proving that it is quite right.

Wrongly accused and judged of robbing a bank and killing six persons, Eddie goes back to prison to wait for his eventual execution. But before these things happen a strong depiction of how a person is marked for life and that forgiveness isn’t always a given when someone has sinned. Lang’s themes in You Only Live Once revolve around the Catholic themes of guilt, innocence, forgiveness, and unconditional love. The criminal life of Eddie follows him all along the film even if he did not commit a crime to get inside. However, Joan knows that he is good and knows that is feelings for her are pure. For that, she will get into deep trouble as a showing of her love and dedication. Even if someone is not acquainted to Catholic values, the moral dilemmas and observations exposed enriched the keen qualities of the script.

Shot in a crisp black and white, You Only Live Once marks the fact that Lang is establishing himself as one of the most talented storyteller of his time. His mise en scène is methodical and nothing is useless or superfluous. It is easy to take this Fonda movie and to compare it with Alfred Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man, also starring Fonda and based on a crime that he may or may not have done. While Hitchcock’s film was a pale attempt to direct a Neorealist film. On the other hand, Lang directs a genuine film that will reverberate itself for decades. There are many similarities between both directors but at some point, Lang is a better storyteller and he is more apt to direct actors and infuse believable characters.

Finally, since Fritz Lang was more of a hard tempered director he had some troubles to get the recognition amongst Hollywood and since he was German this never helped him to fully get the respect he deserved. In the upcoming weeks many Lang movies will be reviewed and have a full spot on them.

Fury (1936)

Fury (Fritz Lang, 1936)

The first American movie from German director Fritz Lang after he fled from Paris escaping the Nazi regime in Germany. The story told by Lang himself was that he was offered the position of the head of the German Cinema Institute – UFA (later accepted by Leni Riefenstahl) by Josef Goebbels in 1933. He recalls that the day after the proposal he escape to France because he was an Anti-Nazi because of his Catholic past. However, records tell that there were many meetings with Goebbels and that the two man disagreed on some aspects of the deal. Lang was already a wise storyteller. With the ban of The Testament of Dr. Mabuse in 1933 by the same Goebbels, Lang knew the menace of the rise of Nazism in his home country. With Fury, it is interesting to see how Lang perceives his new homeland.

A young couple, Kathy (Sylvia Sidney) and Joe (Spencer Tracy),  of Chicago must stay apart for more than a year to raise the money they need to get married. Joe lives with his two brothers Charlie (Frank Albertson) and Tom (George Walcott). His brother, Charlie has been intertwined with the mob and the brothers Wilson are trying to get clean and live a decent life preached by Joe. While rejoining his future wife, Joe gets intercepted as a suspect of a kidnapping of a woman by three men. The evidences makes us hesitate of the fact that maybe Joe has fallen into Charlie’s ex-life bad habits. But no, it is a case of the wrong man that the mob wants to lynch. The people of the village where he is arrested riot against the jail house and put the fire to get rid of him. Kathy who couldn’t wait for Joe anymore at their meeting point arrives at the moment when Joe is seen through the prisons bars behind flames. 

Then the second half of the movie is the trial of the mob who lynched Joe. In the constitution there’s a law that anyone who gets revenge or lynch someone should be punished by a death sentence. Lang’s film works on many levels, first the romance of the two lead characters, then the injustice of the mob and the solidarity of the village where Joe has been lynch to cover up and blame it on the stranger from out of town. There is also the sense of revenge and justice and the hope that the American society is better than the appeal of the mass movements of Nazi Germany. This is a reminder that built on human rights and justice, the American society must unite in the right way instead of covering up. It looks like Lang’s playdoyer for civilization.

Even with a very Capraesque ending, this Fritz Lang film is a near-masterpiece of beautiful camera movements and social involvement. With every watching of a Fritz Lang film one discovers how deep and important his filmography truly is. Expect more reviews of Lang movies in the upcoming weeks. Highly recommended.

Scarlet Street

Scarlet Street (Fritz Lang, 1945)
Fritz Lang had an unique life, he escaped Germany when the Nazi party took the power. He was the greatest filmmaker at that time and his life is sprinkled with many twists. However, some historians prouved that he invented or romantized many elements of his tremendous life. Somehow, this does not make him a worst or a better filmmaker. It's even his ability has a great storyteller that's reflected from those mythomanic inventions.

In the first years that Lang lived in America he struggled a lot to be able to do a project in Hollywood. His strong personnality on the set was blocking him and his reputation as a great director did not followed him on this side of the Atlantic. Fritz Lang had to wait to get the chance of directing Fury in 1936. After this film he worked constantly and directed at least a film per year.

We will stop our sight on his very personnal 1945 offer; Scarlet Street. The major themes of Fritz Lang's oeuvre are present in this masterpiece of Film Noir.

The story: A cashier, Christoper Cross (Edward G. Robinson) is married to a manipulative repressive woman, Adele. To escape from his miserable life Chris met a seductive young woman or read here the femme fatale, Katherine March (Joan Bennett) and tells her that he is a painter like Cézanne. But Kitty (Katherine) is only interested in Chris's money especially with the intervention of her boyfriend Johnny. The boyfriend decides to sell Chris's paintings and deceive the art critics by signing them with Kitty's name on it to take advantage. When Chis discovers that he was fooled by Katherine and she doesn't love him and that she is Johnny's lover he murders her and Johnny gets accused of the midemeanor.

The plot is build so tight and every element is so important that it is a real masterpiece only for the story. There are many interesting moments the fade from Johnny to a painted snake represents the temptation of miserliness that Johnny always ask to Katherine. Later we see Chris taking money from the safe of his job, and he puts it into an enveloppe at the same time his boss asks him to withdraw some money, while he waits the boss put his hand on the enveloppe and taps his fingers on it; it creates a great suspens.

The major theme that we can find from Lang's oeuvre, is the assassination of a loved woman. Many historians proved that Fritz Lang with the concourse of his mistress would have killed his first wife Lisa Rosenthal. He haven't been accused of this murder, this is a case closed as a suicide.

I must add that of the many films of the 1930's and the 1940's I been watching recently they all have a Christmas time ending! I am asking myself: Why that much interest around Christmassy endings?

Scarlet Street is withoout a doubt a great film from one of the greatest director of all time. Even with its depressing ending and the raw non-restored copy I watch I think it is a must see!

A review by Michaël Parent

#24 Fritz Lang

Cinephiles who voted for Fritz Lang:
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Jonathan Nadeau

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